Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Finally Through with Paper 2

Paper 2 was a lot more difficult than expected. The interview process went smoothly until I tried to piece together the questions and answers. Then once I realized that was the wrong route to use I was stuck, sitting in my room confused on what to try next. I tried switching orders, then just ended up deleting the whole thing and starting from scratch. My problem was that my questions were very general, and my topic was very specific, therefore I needed to ask more in depth questions from the source. The person I was interviewing was very open, and once i dug deeper into the questioning the writing became easier and more fluid.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Spacebook

After a long Saturday of writing poetry and quoting famous greek philosophers I stumble into my room with bloodshot eyes (Clearly from lack of sleep) and immediately open my computer and log onto Facebook and Twitter. I scroll down my feeds gazing at everyone's pictures, posts, and opinions on the days events, of course liking and retweeting along the way. What exactly am I gaining from doing this? Am I really that obsessed with other people's lives that I have to log on everyday, twice a day? It's crazy how our generation lives majority of their lives through the web. some say this is the worst thing that could ever happen, others may argue that it makes the anti social well, more social. When It comes to superficiality however, the clear answer is absolutely yes, but is there a catch?

I'm so superFICIAL all I need is a Whistle

Superficial by definition means "On the surface" so basically worrying about whats on the outside of you and other people. Do these social media sites makes us that way? Or do they just make us that way while we are on those sites? Absolutely not! you go on these sites and like someones picture and say how pretty they are, then the next day your at war with them because of something she said behind your back. I feel people (Including Myself) use these social media sites as a shield. There certainly is nothing wrong with that, because for some people that is all they have known, and unfortunately that is a big problem for our generation. 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tweeting Vs. Research Paper




When writing any sort of paper for school, you automatically shift gears from how you normally text, tweet or even talk. A teacher gives you an assignment, and you answer the question, simple as that. If you have a formal paper due for a class, your not going to submit something full of grammatical errors, or even something in text format. And you absolutely are not going to submit something with hash-tags, acronyms, or inappropriate humor. As an avid "tweeter" I can relate to the difference between composing a tweet and even writing this blog post. I use my tweeter to express what i'm feeling at that exact moment, whether it be angry, happy, and anything in between.  Of course your audience when you are tweeting is totally different because majority of them are your friends.  What you write doesn't matter because its yours, not what someone tells you to write about. So when writing for a teacher, your brain turns off the profanity, hash-tags, and LOL's. It goes into a mode  of proper english as well as proper sentence structure, and grammar. 

Monday, October 8, 2012

I am Paxton.

The story I am Vanessa Was all about knowing who you really are. She struggles her whole life to fit in, and even when she thinks she has found her place she is still not accepted. The community she feels most comfortable in, didn't even accept her because of what she looked like. She doesn't give up however, and it takes the silent encouragement of her Mother for her to realize that she is doing the right thing, and that is following her dreams. Communities are supposed to be somewhere you feel comfortable and accepted right? Well that totally depends, because some communities are not willing to accept any "Others" because they have become comfortable with their surroundings. On the flip side some people that join an accepting community do not allow the others to take them in. It definitely is a two way street. In Vanessa's case she feels that the fashion clique is the perfect fit for her, but its certainly isn't going to be easy to fit in with people that all have exploding personalities, due to the creative atmosphere.

Communities in Writing

Being a successful writer whether it be in a classroom setting, or a professional atmosphere can be tough. These two scenarios could be communities within a community, which makes it even more difficut. Just like Vanessa wanting to straighten her hair to fit in, most writers write to fit in. When Harry Potter first came out it was the best thing since sliced bread. Now authors are targeting that same teenage adolescent market with books like Twilight and Hunger Games. Why write what everyone else is? Well money could play a large role in the decision making but as far as in the classroom writing should be what you want to write about. Vanessa wanted so  bad to fit it, but realized she had to be herself in order to make it happen, so the same applies with writing. Write to your standards, and don't question anything. 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Rhetoric

When I think of rhetoric my mind automatically jumps to a Native American tribe sitting around a fire playing drums, while a chief tells them stories of their ancestors. Although this could be considered rhetoric, its not the full story. The definition that made it more clear for me was "... rhetoric implies the use or manipulation of words." because it allowed me to open it up to a lot more applications. Rhetoric to me would be defined as anything whether a story, legend, or experienced that is told from one person to another. Even if it is not passed down generations, seeing some stranger and talking to them could be a rhetoric.

Canons - Pronuntiatio (Delivery)

The most important part of rhetoric to me would have to be the delivery. Anyone could tell you a story, or read a passage, but someone who has a good delivery can really make a difference. Everyone has had those teachers who may teach the worst class ever, but the way the give you the information makes it so much easier to understand. It also makes whatever your reading or listening to soak in that much easier, rather than going in one ear then out the other.